Kenya’s consumption of mobile broadband Internet has continued its sharp upward trajectory, driven by rising smartphone penetration over the three months to September 2025, according to new data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
In a report released on Monday, December 8, 2025, the Authority revealed that mobile data subscriptions reached 60.2 million by the end of the first quarter of the current financial year.
Of these, 78.3 per cent were mobile broadband connections.
The dominance of high-speed networks was further underscored by the finding that 4G subscriptions accounted for 84.8 per cent of all mobile broadband users.
What is Kenya’s data consumption?
Data consumption also rose significantly. The average mobile broadband user consumed 14.3 GB of data during the quarter.
Usage was highest among 5G subscribers, who averaged 40.0 GB per user, compared with 14.1 GB for 4G users.
The report indicates that by the end of September 2025, 75.0 million mobile phones were connected to Kenyan mobile networks, representing a penetration rate of 143.1 per cent.
Smartphones made up 59.5 per cent of all connected devices, with smartphone and feature-phone penetration standing at 85.2 per cent and 57.9 per cent, respectively, reflecting the widespread use of multiple devices per user.
“Mobile data remains a fundamental driver of internet connectivity in the country, fostering socio-economic development and expanding access to services and information,” notes the report in part.
Mobile SIM subscription in Kenya in 2025
During the first quarter, mobile (SIM) subscriptions grew by 2.1 per cent to 78.3 million, marking a penetration rate of 149.4 per cent as of 30th September 2025.
This growth is mainly attributed to the continued expansion of mobile networks and ever-growing demand for mobile services.
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) subscriptions that comprise SIM cards assigned for use in machines grew by 4.1 per cent to 1.86 million as at the end of the reference period.
By end of the reference period, mobile money subscriptions were at 48.6 million translating to a penetration rate of 92.8 per cent compared to 91.0 per cent reported by end of June 2025.
The report also indicates that during the period, 842.3 million cyber threat events were detected by the National KE-Computer Incident Response Team Coordination Centre (National KE-CIRT/CC), an 81.6 percent drop from the 4.6 billion threats detected in the previous quarter.
How many cyber threats were reported in Kenya in 2025?
In response to the detected cyber threat events, the National KE-CIRT/CC issued 20 million advisories in the same period, a 15.5 per cent increase compared to the 17.3 million advisories that were issued during the previous quarter.
This was attributed to regular updates of systems, implementation of organizational access controls, hardening the anti-virus and firewalls, patching vulnerable systems regularly, and utilizing multi-factor authentication and strong passwords.
By the end of September 2025, 75.0 million mobile phones were connected to Kenyan mobile networks.
